Hound Ears Club Rolls Out the Red Carpet for HSEP

Hound Ears Club rolled out the red carpet for the local wedding pros on Monday night for the monthly get-together of High South Event Professionals, the network of experts behind the jaw-dropping events that happen around the High Country every year.

We joined this booming industry and the community behind it when we began work last year on our first edition of High South Weddings magazine. We’ve enjoyed building connections and making new friends in the wedding world, so our team was happy to be there to reconnect with friendly faces on Monday night.Hound Ears Food and Beverage Manager Julia Apoian and her team served up wine and great hors d’oeuvres as the crew came together to catch up on the happenings of another busy wedding season. All the while, Bob and Patty Tatum of the music duo Sound Traveler were serving up some tunes that everyone knew and loved.

Lucky for us, a plated dinner followed cocktail hour, and we enjoyed indulging in the club’s signature Shulls Mill salad and beef stroganoff (which was awesome, by the way).

Once we sat down for dinner, Elizabeth Hempfling, the group’s fearless leader, kept us in the loop on what’s new on the High Country’s wedding and special events scene. This month’s featured vendors gave us a sneak peek at what they do — Mason and Carolyn Clement at Millefleurs showed off floral arrangements that were absolutely beautiful (just like everything else they do), and makeup artist Sharla Bance, a Texas native turned Carolina girl, gave demonstrations showing the benefits of airbrush makeup.

We also heard updates from some vendors who are new in town, like the crew at Extra Hands Concierge Services (who are here to make life easier for wedding planners, vendors and their clients) and the family behind Mountain Muscle Classic Cars (who are now renting out their pristine vehicles for weddings and other events).